Safety towel-holder.



F. M. SEM/HE SAFETY Tow/EL HOLDER,

li l

Application filed February il, i935.

El? all 'mlm/ni 'it may 09:11 com lle it l town tlzfit l, limui; Sommer., u citizen oi die United States, residing et indianapolis, in the county of lll-.wien und ,citate of indium., have invented certuiu new und useful improvements in Safety Towelliolders, of which the following is o specificut-ion.

The object of this invention is to provide e substitute for the .iusuiiitury roller towel iii common use in stores, ollices zuid other` places Ywhere Jmilet conveniences are supplied. to :t large iuuuber of people, whereby iudividuul towels will lie furnished, :lud a fur-- ther object oi' the invention is to prevent the rexxiovel of tl'ic towels from the place of 'while permitting them to be freely und comfeioieetly used. one at o time from an original gile of clean towels.

Another object oi tllc invention is to enable the clean towels, suitably perforated, to oe threaded ou :i locliiiig rod und folded oud. gathered iii luiiullleseicd counted at the laundry, and tied there in bundles of the iid economy iu time cud lub-or than where ie lifldiug rolls are replenished with clean .iw-els where the towelsY are to lio used.

Still met ier object oii the invention to provid closed cabinet, with :i hinged door :tor the zo, within which the cleeio7V :folded towels ere ilflcclcud rept Jor use, cud to which the rod upon which lie towels :ire threaded, is locked so as to prevent the removal olli the rod and towels except by `ao authorized agent 'having o suitable key, but not so to prevent die access to and use of the towels by opening the door' o' the ealaiet.

The above and other objects of the iureution which will lrrcinuiiter appear, are accomplished by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Wliicl1- Figure l is c from; `View of leV cabinet equipped Wit-li mj; invention, tlie door of the cabinet losing shown open. Fig'. 2 is e View iii transverse vertical section on the line 3 is en underside View of ei portion of the lower l tlie cabinet with my towel holding rod vured iu operative position to seid slieli i is a front perspective View of c portion ol: the lower shell2 looking up under the l ood showing my ii'oprorefl Sleeccoztioii. of Letters raient.

equired muulier oi towels to c, bundle, tliere-l )V iiisuriejr greater accuracy, convenience olf Fig. l, showing the door closed.'

lovelfliolfjliiig red iu operative position thereon, no im' s licio' shown, sind not showin@- tlie pudlock by which the rod is locked to the slicll, und Fig. 5 shows the towel-holding rod removed from tf1: cabinet and carrying a bundle of folded towels tied to the rodwih o string, es the towels and rod leere the laundry to lie delivered to and locked in u cabinet. l

Lilie characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

is it cabinet having c top, sides nud back iuuuovably connected together, und having e door 'l' iu trout which is hinged to the holy of the csioizi :For closing the lutter and for convenient opening to permit access to tire interior of the culiiuet.

8 is c sliell which also forms the bottom of the cabinet, and which extends from the cabinet liacl: ai suitable distance, but leving :1 space between its trout edge and the door "l for die free operation cud passage of the toucliioldiog rod. l shelf 9, of glass or other suituble szuiitry materiel, is conveniently located ucar ille top of the cabinet to receive crush mid comb and other toilet articles.,

Secured iu env suitable permanent wey to the front el, e of Llie shelf D, preferably et the middle o the l1' is :L plate i() hcw l 1 flug l1. through ferse noie lil to receive lie bow-shaped ooit of padlock 13, und secured to the rear underside o the sliel' 8 is e 'ooit lll, preferably pressed lo 1 a spring 15 into s, normal sloot position. 'llaa lug ll and loolt are the ouroosc o' removelol securing o towel-holding rod of special shape and construction, which l will new describe, to the shelf 8. This rod comprises a member 16 which occupies e vertical position when assembled in operctiveposition Witliinthe Cabinet. lt is provided with au eye 17 at '1t-slower end, and adjacent thereto is formed with e` longitudinal slot or opening to receive the lug l, and through Which lle lug ll is passed :md removal prevented by lthe passing of the bowelmped bolt of padlock through the opening l2 of seidlug. The member exteudsto Within :m inch or two of tlie shell' 9 where it is bent preferably with an inverted lwslieped bend 18, and the rod is then 'continued downwardly to a disteocc loe-low the shelf liere shown es about the same distance below 'as the extension is of the member 16 above said shelf and forming the member 19. The extension of the rod above and below shelf 8 is not arbitrary as to distance in either direction. The

member 19 terminates with a U-shaped bend 2O and the rod is continued thence upwardly until it reaches the bottom of the shelf 8, forming the member 21 between the bend 20 and shelf 8. The member 19 is shown as being bent about its midlength so as to bring the member 21 in substantially a vertical position as close as practicable to the wall which supports the cabinet, and consequently causing the member 21 to contact with the bottom of the shelf 8 near, the rear of the shelf. The rod is then bent forward by a substantially right angled bend and is continued across the bottom of the shelf to form the member 22 which terminates with an eye 23.

The above described rod will preferably bemade out of galvanized steel or iron but obviously brass or other materials may be used, and the member 19 will be bent so as to stand to one side of the plane of the member 1G, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to provide maximum clearance room between the members 1G and 19 in manipulating the towels and to require the minimum amount of room between the front edge of the shelf and the door 7. rl`he member 22 will be locked to the member 16 by passing-l the bowshaped bolt of a padlock 24; through both of the eyes 17 and 23, and obviously, when the ends are locked together in this manner the insertion and removal of towels from the rod is prevented. l/Vhen the eyes 17 and'23 are unlocked the 'member 22 by virtue of the 'torsional strain in member 21 swings with the eye 23 toward the member 19 thereby leaving the lower end of the member 16 unobstructed by the arm 22, which facilitates the removal and replacing of the towels n the rod.

After'the rod is bolted to the lug 11 the member 22 is swung up under the underside of the shelf 8 where it is .retained by means of the bolt 14, which is passed under it in the manner shown in Figs- 3 and 4.

The towels 26 are suitably perforated at one end and preferably are reinforced with metal gromcts 27. The clean towels are secured to the rod, preferably at the laundry, by inserting the eye 17 of member 16 through the gromets of the towels. The towels are folded, either before or after they are strung on the rod, and when the desired number Ahave been thus attached they'are ,tied together in a, bundle to prevent dis-A sembling and counting the towels can be more expeditiously and cheaply done by girls at tho laundry, than by the man who delivers the towels, for the reason that the wages paid the latter are generallv higher and for the further reason that the time4 which would be consumed by him would mean the correspondingly increased idle and there retained by replacing the padlock 13, and the bolt 14 is shot under the member 22 of therod. The bundle of towels is placedupon the shelf S, as shown in Figs. v

1 and 2, and the string 28 is cut and removed leaving the towels free to be separately lifted ol" of the pile as they are needed for use. This is permitted by the action of the rod through the gromet 27, oassing around the loop 18 and bringing the towel in unfolded condition to the position shown on the member 19 in Fig. 1 where it is sufficiently free and accessible for use. After it has'been used it is released and dropped down into the loop between the members 19 and 21, where all of the soiled towels are collected and held on the rod.

While I have described my invention with more or less minuteness as regards details of construction and arrangement and as being embodied in certain precise forms, I. do not desire to be limited thereto unduly or any more than is pointed out in the claims. On the contrary, I contemplate all proper changes in form, construction and arrangement, the omission'of immaterial elements and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or necessity render expedient.

I claim:

1. The combination of a support, a rod upon which towels are strung and tied in bundles, said rod having tie-holding releasable means, means connecting the ends of the rod after the towels are strung to prevent their removal from the rod when un tied, and means to removably secure the rod to the support, said rod being placed with the towels resting upon said support, said towels before use being untied and released tota portion of the rod from which the towels are to be used.

2. In a towel-holder, the combination of a shelf, a rod upon which towels are strung, the rod being bent to bring its ends in close relation to each' other, a lock for removably :admiro securing the ends of the rod to each other and means for removably securing the rod to the shelf.

3. ln :1 towel-holder, a, cabinet having n shelf, e rod removably locked to seid shelf.,

said rod extending upwardly of the shelf und thence down again, 'upon which towels are strung, and ineens for removably leek ing` the ends of the rod together.

l. A shelf, n rod locked to seid shelf5 said rod extending upwardly of the shelf and thence down below the shelf and thence to the place of beginning, Ineens for locking and unlocking the ends of the rod to each other and means comprising n padlock for removably securing the rod to the shelf,

A .shelf having n perforntec` lugi a rofl having u slot through which the lng passes, :i lock to prevent the removai of the rod from the lug, said rod extending upwardly of the sheltl and thence outwardly and thence downwardly below the shelf and thence rearwardly and upwardly to the Shelf and thence out to the place of beginning, the ends of the rod being perforated, n loch passing through seid perforutions to lock the ends together. a

G. A cabinet having n shelf, a perforated lug on Sniil shelf, n rod having :i perforation to receive snicl lug, :i lock to prevent the witlnh'nn'nl ot' the lug, from the perforation of the rod, Suid rod extending upwardly ol the shelf, and rurvefl forwardly :ind then extending ilouuunrdly )ir-low the shelf und then oui-vwl rruru'nrclly und extended upvfnrilly to the bottoni ol the shelf :intl then bent outnurilly sind extended outu'nrilly terminating ncur the lirst ond of the rod, :i bolt to secure the rod under the shalt, the two ends o't the rod boing perloruted, und. :i lock through the perforated oiuls of the rod.

In .rilneiss whereof l 'have hereunto my hand und seul ut 'lndi:iimpolisE indiana, lthis 7th dey oi February, L D. one thousunal ninel hnnilrcil und thirteen.

lflilih'li lil. HEME/HER.

W itnrsses 1 i". il. Vilonnmn ln sfl 

